The Life Of An Outcast
by sashailylol
Summary: A teenage girl hopes to find happiness after her parents disown her, by seeking refuge in her former best friend. Through the ups and downs of her high school journey, she learns the importance of friends and family, and what the word "home" really means.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: This is an original story not based on or inspired by any fandom, author, or story. Later chapters may include certain triggers, but I will put notes at the beginning of each chapter, so please read them (I'm not exactly sure what counts as a trigger so I decided to err on the side of caution). I have put a lot of work into it and would very much appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. Reviews are very much welcome and encouraged. Thanks :D**

 **Trigger warning: abusive parents**

The door creaked softly as she tiptoed into the house. She had just come back from one of the best nights of her life. The party was filled with all of her friends and lots of cute boys; she even flirted with a few. All of her favourite songs were played, and she danced until one in the morning, when she'd decided it was time to go home. She wasn't supposed to be out past 8:30, but the party started at 10, so she snuck out of her bedroom window, and into her friends' awaiting car.

"Wow, you look fantastic."

"Your hair is so silky and long."

"I love that skirt," her friends had chimed as she got into the car. She expected similar praise from them, as she'd never worn her hair out because her religion, enforced by her father, required that she cover it with a Hijab.

She had been feeling particularly rebellious, so she was wearing a sequined, sleeveless top and a fitted black skirt that was well above the knee. She'd figured that her parents trusted her enough not to check on her, and would be fast asleep by the time she got home, so a change of clothes wasn't needed. However, as she crept around her living room, feeling her way to the stairs, the kitchen light clicked on.

She froze, her foot hovering above the first step. She slowly turned to face her father, her heart thumping so loudly, she was sure he would hear it.

"Hello Aisha," he said calmly, which frightened her even more.

If she had been able to tear her eyes away from her incensed father, she would have seen her mother cowering in the corner of the room.

"You're late," he stated simply, rising from his seat at the kitchen table. "And what is this?" He pulled at the sequins on her shirt.

"They're sequins, Dad," she began to explain, but was interrupted by another one of her father's questions.

"Aisha, where's your Hijab?

 _Oh crap._

"Oh, um, well, I – " she stuttered, quivering with fear, not wanting her father to go on a rampage and verbally abuse her again.

"Aisha Rahmani, how dare you!?" he suddenly exploded, his booming voice bouncing off the walls. "You know how your mother and I feel about our religion!" Her mother flinched at the mention of her existence, and although Aisha knew her mother was not as deeply religious as her husband thought, she was too afraid to say anything to him.

"Islamism is frowned upon as it is, without being betrayed by one of our own!"

"But that's the point, Daddy! I don't want to be a Muslim!" she screamed defensively back in his face, drawing herself up to her full height, though she still didn't come close to his six foot three form. Aisha refused to be spoken down to like that again. She was just fed up with her father trying to run her life.

Her mother tried to intervene before things got too out of hand, but was pushed back by her husband's strong hands. For a moment, Aisha was worried that her father's abuse may finally have turned from verbal to physical. Luckily, her mother's stunned expression said otherwise.

"Well then," he replied, voice growing colder with each word, "if you don't want to be a part of the family religion, then you are no longer a part of the family." The silence that followed was deafening, yet no one tried to break it. They were too stunned by Aisha's father's last words. Aisha herself could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Disbelief clouded her thoughts as she became unable to comprehend what he'd just said. She didn't understand his logic at all; that his religion was more important than his own daughter.

Finally, someone spoke. "You have half an hour to pack your things and leave," her father said, looking at his watch as if to time her. Aisha could tell by his pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows that he was entirely serious, so she rushed upstairs, grabbing her suitcase on the way up. Tears pouring down her face, she packed mindlessly, her thoughts on the encounter downstairs. She could not believe her mother. Aisha knew by how careful her mother was around him, that she'd always been afraid of her husband, but Aisha thought any mother would have lifted a finger for their own daughter.

The microwave timer beeped in warning, signalling her time was almost up. She tore her clothes out of her wardrobe and threw them into her suitcase, not bothering to fold them. Aisha hurried downstairs just as the timer went off, dragging her suitcase behind her.

"Now get out." Her father's tone was final as he pointed towards the front door.

"Mom?" Aisha's pleading eyes turned to her mother, but the woman paid no attention to her. Her eyes were glued to the floor and she stood stock still, as if not wanting to disturb a sleeping dragon. Upon seeing that her mother could not care less whether her daughter stayed or not, Aisha burst into a fresh wave of tears and fled from the place she had once called home.

The cold night air stung as it hit her face and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. Suddenly, a realisation hit her like a freight train; she was homeless. She'd been disowned by her only family, and she now had nowhere else to go. She sunk to the pavement, clutching at her chest. She had never felt so hopeless in her life. Sure, she'd been lost and alone before, but this was a whole new level of desperate. At first, she hadn't a clue where to go or what to do, but as she contemplated possible places to stay, she remembered a certain thing her old friend Faith had once said: "My door is always open. If you ever need a place to stay, don't hesitate to ask me." Yet still she hesitated – the two hadn't spoken in years, and Aisha wondered if that offer still stood.

 _Although,_ she pondered as she wandered down the street, _I've got no other options and nothing to lose, so why not?_

Luckily, Faith only lived a few blocks away, so she dragged herself to her feet.

Upon arriving at what used to be her second home, Aisha rang the doorbell, hoping Faith's family would hear it. After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal her elementary-school best friend, Faith.

"Aisha?"


	2. Chapter 2

Faith was a quiet, humble girl. She didn't wish to stand out, she never made a spectacle of herself, and she became extremely self-conscious when people noticed her. Overall, she was just very shy. Becoming friends with Aisha was one of the most outrageous things she had ever done. Naturally Faith figured it was only a matter of time until the two became separated, and Aisha found friends with similar personality traits. In fact, Faith was surprised their friendship had lasted as long as it did. So when the time inevitably came to say goodbye after elementary school, Faith wasn't all that surprised that the two simply drifted apart. But that didn't mean she didn't still miss her long-time best friend. So when Aisha appeared on her doorstep at three o'clock in the morning, Faith was almost stunned into silence.

"What are you doing here?" Faith asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"I just got kicked out," Aisha replied solemnly, a single tear rolling down her check to join the rest, "because I'm not religious enough for my father." There was a moment of silence between the two as Aisha's words sunk in.

After the moment passed, Faith stepped aside, and motioned for the orphaned girl to follow. "Well, come in then," Faith said gently, allowing Aisha inside. "You know you are always welcome here." she continued, shutting the door behind her.

Aisha smiled, "Thank you," but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Faith, what on Earth is going on down – oh," Faith's mother came rushing down the hallway, clearly wondering why her daughter was up and about at three o'clock in the morning. Upon seeing Aisha's dishevelled appearance, her expression changed from one of bewilderment to concern.

"Honey, what's the matter?" she asked, worry furrowing her eyebrows. Aisha was surprised she was still remembered, considering that she hadn't set foot in this house for at least six years.

As she looked at Faith's mother, she remembered her own, and her eyes welled up with tears. Seeing that Aisha was in quite a state, Faith softly explained to her mother that now was perhaps not the best time. Aisha had no comment, still saddened by own her neglecting mother.

"Well Sweetie, I'm glad to see you no matter what the circumstances," Faith's mom replied gently, placing her hand on Aisha's shoulder. "And," she continued glancing back at her husband, "we'd be happy to have you stay for as long as you need."

Aisha's eyes lit up at that. "Really? Oh, thank you so much," she replied gratefully.

Faith's mother smiled sweetly, "We're happy to help, Dear. You can stay in the guest room. It's right next to Faith's."

Aisha smiled back, thankful that at least some people still had functional families, and that she was being allowed to stay with one.

"Now," Faith's father spoke for the first time that evening, "as much as I love this quality time together, it is getting late and we all should be in bed."

Faith was the first to move, picking up Aisha's suitcase. The latter followed, slouching like a dog with its tail between its legs.

"You can stay with me in my room tonight, if you want," Faith suggested, shrugging to seem nonchalant. She knew Aisha would need someone to talk to after what had happened.

"Thank you," Aisha replied, gratitude overwhelming her as she stared at the kind, forgiving girl standing in front of her. "You really don't understand how much this means to me," she continued, reaching for her best friend's hand.

"It's nothing. Besides," Faith replied, meeting Aisha's gaze with her own, "I missed you." She squeezed Aisha's hand, before leading her into the bedroom.

"So, what happened?" Faith inquired gently, flopping onto the bed. She had been careful about broaching the subject, as the wound was fresh, and would therefore be a very sensitive thing to discuss. Yet, she was unable to contain her curiosity, and hence she had to ask, for how else was she supposed to help the girl if she hadn't a clue what had transpired earlier that night.

Aisha worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she joined Faith on the bed. She knew that admitting what had happened would make it that much more real, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to accept that she no longer had a home. But, Aisha decided, Faith needed to know the full story so, with some words of support from her friend, Aisha took a deep breath before beginning.

As she recounted the story, she could feel a lump growing in her throat. She even had to stop a few times to regain control of her shaking voice, but Faith kindly encouraged her to keep going. She hadn't noticed the tears streaming down her cheek until Faith reached over to wipe them away. Aisha could tell by Faith's guarded expression that she was being very careful. That she knew Aisha was on the verge of a complete breakdown, and that one wrong move could tip her over the edge.

Aisha sighed, "So now you know. I was disowned by my father while my mother stood idly by, and now," she breathed in deeply, attempting to calm herself down before continuing, "I don't have a home." Her voice broke on the last word and her hand flew to her mouth.

"You do," Faith said softly, wrapping her arms around her former friend, "it's here. With me." Faith couldn't imagine how hard it must be to go through something like that. Although it wasn't nearly over, Aisha suddenly appeared so brave in her eyes, and she imagined that one day she would grow to look up to the dark-haired girl.

"It must be heartbreaking for your own parents to abandon you like that." Faith commented, more to herself than to Aisha. Her best friend didn't reply, too busy crying to notice what she had said.

Faith let Aisha cry in her arms for a while, until finally, her sobs quieted and she fell asleep at last. Faith glanced tiredly over at the clock on her nightstand, its glowing red numbers telling her it was just past four in the morning. She gently slid Aisha off her shoulder and onto the bed, lying next to her and quickly falling asleep beside her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Trigger warning: bullying**

Aisha wandered down the hall with her friends, looking for her class. She wished Faith could be there with her, but there was no way she was going to ask her to transfer. It would be too messy and expensive.

It seemed like months since Aisha has set foot in these halls, even though it was only a few days ago. So much had happened over the past couple of days that Aisha didn't even care what was happening at school.

Her friends could tell something was wrong, judging by the distant glaze in her eyes and her lack of enthusiasm in conversations. They didn't comment on it however; not to her face anyway.

After Aisha left for the bathroom, the group launched into discussion about what could be wrong with her.

"Maybe she's pregnant," one of them suggested, eyes going wide at the thought.

"No, she'd never do something like that," another countered.

"Why don't we just ask her?" a third girl pointed out, as if stating the obvious.

When Aisha returned, she was bombarded with questions. She neglected to answer any of them, stating that she had to see a teacher before class. She hurried off, leaving her friends even more confused than before. In her haste, she ran straight into her crush, Parker. Blushing profusely, she apologised before rushing off once more. Her heart was racing and her breaths were quick and shallow. Her brain was still trying to comprehend that he had just looked at her. That he now knew she even existed. She pushed away the oncoming flood of thoughts and emotions, for she really did need to get to class.

Parker watched her leave, wondering why she had so stubbornly avoided his gaze. He shrugged his shoulders and turned the corner to see a group of girls talking in hushed voices. As they spotted him, their whispering intensified and he rolled his eyes, sighing. He was used to this sort of attention from girls, but that didn't make it any less annoying. The only girl he had his heart set on was the one he had never spoken to. It intrigued him that she was the only girl in the school who had not tried to hit on him. Her continued avoidance of him only fascinated him more and he became determined to find out more about her.

In the most subtle way possible, Parker proceeded to ask his classmates what they knew about the mysterious junior named Aisha. He received very mixed reviews; some said she was hilarious and pretty while others said they'd never heard of her before.

The girl in question was also daydreaming about her crush on the most popular guy in school. She wondered how on earth she was going to get his attention, before realising that she didn't need his attention to be happy and would probably be better off without any more drama in her life right now.

For the better part of the day, Aisha forgot all about her encounter with Parker, but was reminded of it when he passed her in the hallway between periods. Her heart fluttered as their eyes met and she thought she saw a hint of blush colouring his cheeks. It must have been her imagination, or wishful thinking, because it dissipated a few moments later. She sighed deeply, he was so gorgeous there was no way she could muster up the courage to talk to him. She could barely even look at him without getting flustered. Besides, she would get over it. She hoped.

Suddenly, Aisha was shoved sideways into the lockers by a rough pair of hands.

"Now you listen to me," a harsh voice said threateningly.

She had fallen to the ground because of the force of the push and looked around, hoping for someone to rush to her aid. She became even more frightened to see that she and her tormentor were alone in the corridor.

"Hey!" the boy yelled, banging his fist against the locker. She flinched as the invasive sound reverberated off the walls. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Terrified, Aisha looked up to see who the callous voice belonged to. She wasn't all that surprised to find herself looking up at Scott, well known for his temper and low IQ, looming over her as she sat curled up on the floor. He pulled her roughly to her feet, his tight grip on her arms leaving bruises.

"I know about your little secret," Scott's lip curled in malice as he spoke, "and I'm going to tell everyone at this school unless…" he paused, waiting for Aisha to look up. She did and his grin widened, making him look like an evil Cheshire cat. "You go out with me," he finished, taking a step closer.

Their bodies were almost touching and Aisha could feel his hot breath ghosting over her face. She was absolutely repulsed by him. She felt violated and would not allow him to penetrate her shell any more than he already had.

"No," she replied as firmly as she could manage, given the current situation.

"No? Are you sure?" he sneered, "Do you really want everyone to know what a failure you are? That your own parents couldn't stand you so much that they completely disowned you?" His lip curled with disgust, looking down on Aisha in not just a physical sense.

She tried desperately not to let her emotions show on her face, even though she had a feeling Scott could see right through her mask anyway.

After a brief moment of silence, he seemed to have decided that her resolve was not going to waver, because he stepped back, though not as far as she would have liked.

"Fine," he said coldly, "have it your way."

Aisha watched him stalk out of sight before crumpling hopelessly to the ground. He was going to tell everyone. The bullying was just going to get worse and she had no one to protect and look out for her. She was doomed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh my God, did you hear what happened to that girl? What was her name again?"

"Wow, she is such a loser."

The whispers followed Aisha down the hall as she walked into school the next morning. Their words filled her head and rebounded against the inside of her skull causing her eyes to well up with tears. She wasn't sure exactly what Scott had told everyone, but judging by the looks she was getting from everyone, whatever he'd said was not good.

Almost everyone was talking about her, and even though some came up to her with condolences, their words were meaningless. Their thoughts and prayers were utterly worthless to her.

She ignored all but one, whose voice caught her attention.

"Hey, um," the boy stuttered nervously, causing Aisha to look up, stunned to discover that Parker was really addressing her. "I know you've probably heard this a lot today but, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened to you," he continued, swallowing hard, "and, um, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." His words seemed genuine enough, but the cliché phrase made her question his motivation to talk to her. She was tired of all the empty offers.

"Boy, news really travels fast, huh?" Aisha stated exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I guess," Parker trailed off, a little confused as to her reaction.

"Why do you even care about what happened to me? How do you even know it's true?" she challenged, interrupting his train of thought. Desperate for him to actually care about her, Aisha pressed for information, wanting to know the truth as to what he really wanted from her.

"Because I care about you and I want to get to know you better," he said calmly. "And I don't know if it's true or not, but if it is," Parker paused, turning and gazing into her eyes, "your parents must be crazy to give up someone as wonderful as you." Aisha tried to conceal her blush by looking down at her feet. Thoughts raced through her mind, but she repressed them, not wanting to get distracted in Parker's presence.

"You flatter me," she managed to get out, still not meeting his eyes, "but maybe you ought to find something to back that up with."

"I will if you let me," Parker countered. On the outside, all she could seen was confidence, but as Aisha looked deeper into his eyes, she saw the fear and nerves eating away at him.

She smiled softly and continued walking, noticing that he followed her. Her smile grew as it sunk in; he was really interested in her. Maybe, in time, he would even grow to like her. She shook her head slightly as she pushed that thought away, knowing it was wishful thinking.

The two walked in silence for a moment. Aisha still wasn't sure what Parker was hoping to achieve by talking to her, so until she found out what his true motives were, she vowed to remain sceptical. The slightly uncomfortable silence was broken by Aisha, who had given up on the subtle approach, deciding instead to just be blunt and open.

"Parker," she began, stopping to face him, "what do you really want here? I mean it's not like we've ever spoken before, or you've ever even looked at me, so why now? What made you suddenly decide to come up to me?"

By interrogating him, Aisha hoped he would own up to being dared or blackmailed so she could know once and for all that she was truly not worth anyone's attention. Especially not Parker's.

Parker looked at Aisha, clearly awkward about her confronting him. For a moment, he wondered why she didn't believe that he truly wanted to help, but then he remembered that he was the typical 'popular' guy that didn't talk to anybody unless they were 'cool'. Of course she was sceptical about him talking to her, she was sort of an outcast, because even though she had friends, she didn't really belong in a group.

"I understand where you're coming form, I really do, but if you just give me a chance I can prove to you that I really do care," he suggested, desperately wanting her to listen so he could show her just how much he cared.

Aisha herself was lost in thought, trying to decide whether or not to trust the boy in front of her. Eventually she came to the conclusion that, if she let him in just a little bit, his true intentions would become clear and she could lock herself away again. Until then, unless she wanted to be alone for the next two years, she would just have to trust that he was telling the truth.

"Fine. You have one chance," she said, holding up one finger for emphasis. Parker internally shouted with delight. Externally however, he simply smiled at her, thankful for the opportunity to show her that she did have people that cared about her, even if they weren't the ones she originally wanted.

"I won't disappoint you, I promise," he replied with a grin. It was that grin that made Aisha melt, suddenly remembering all the things she loved about Parker. The fact that she was the one who put that smile there only made her fall in love with him even more. Trying to stay just friends was going to be impossible.


End file.
